Letter from the Director

As the Director of the Western Institute for Neurodevelopmental Studies and Interventions, I invite you to visit us and learn about our cutting-edge program for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with learning and behavior problems.

For many years, in the course of working with children and adults with learning disabilities and their schools and families, I had wanted to develop a program that integrated the exciting research in neuroscience with multidisciplinary clinical work into a program that made a difference to these people. I was one of the researchers involved in a project on the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities (dyslexia), which was funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development in the 1990s. It is one of the very few programs supported by peer-reviewed research studies. The findings indicated that intensive, individualized training focused on phonological awareness resulted in significant and long-lasting improvement in many children with dyslexia.

WINSi was started in 2001 with a staff of two persons. Our intensive treatment program for children was designed around the research indicating that the most effective treatment of reading disorders is intensive, individualized training focused on phonological awareness. We also added a number of modifications and improvements to the treatment program. These modifications include the addition of psychotherapy for children and their families, occupational therapy, and specific therapies for higher-order language, mathematics, and learning to write. Learning disabilities are not simply “learning problems” but involve the whole child.

Over the last five years, WINSi has expanded to include a staff of nine and continues to grow. We grew because of our success and because parents told other parents about the changes that occurred in the way their children developed skills that they had lacked. Our services now include an intensive cognitive rehabilitation program as well as diagnostic services for children and adults. At WINSi, we work with children and adults, their families, and their schools to promote successful functioning.

Please browse through our website or call us for further information. We look forward to meeting you and helping you or your child to find success in learning.